An Outsider's View
by Melethril
Summary: A short one-shot concerning Gypsy's view on Literati and Jess in general. Simply because Gypsy is a wonderful character :-


**An Outsider's View**

The news was all over town.

About what happened at the Dance Marathon.

She hadn't thought Dean to be so insensitive yelling at the girl like that in front of everybody. She didn't complain about their breaking up, not at all. In fact, Rory should have broken it off a while ago when her romantic interests had started to change.

They'd been cute, the kind-hearted stranger falling in love with the town princess. Sometimes, when she heard the town talk about the happenings at the Dance Marathon, what a bad choice Rory made by getting together with that hoodlum from New York, she wondered if they'd forgotten that Dean was rather new to this town, too.

Oh, he blended in, yes, he'd participated, did participate, everything that was expected. So boring.

Jess couldn't care less about blending in. Not that he couldn't. Taylor could keep talking about how much of an inconvenience the teenager was to this town, how he 'endangered' their community, not even noticing that said boy stood only a few feet away shaking his head in amusement.

He was quiet and minded his own business.

A character treat she liked.

They'd finalized a deal for that crappy car of his within two minutes, not a single word meant for anything else but business.

Jess was tough to make businesses with. He knew exactly how much the things he received were worth and didn't accept anything even coming close to a rip-off. He'd driven a hard bargain, but the deal had been fair for the both of them.

Dean on the other hand had been ready to do about anything to please her and Rory with that car. God, she could have overcharged him to the point it was ridiculous. The boy wasn't stupid, mind you, but compared to the _hoodlum_, he wasn't exactly smart either.

Few people looked smart when he was around. Rory being on of them… Maybe that was why they blended together like her tools did with the cars she repaired. Their minds were so alike and yet different, it created a unique chemistry.

Even blind people could see that.

They all saw it, the entire town, but nobody seemed to approve. At first, she'd thought Luke to be one of the first to be happy about the development, but all she could see a few days after the news, was worry.

That was not directed at his nephew.

She couldn't help but wonder whether they were all blind.

They were both into this, much deeper than either of them would be ready to believe.

She'd forgotten her bag at the garage one night. When she returned to retrieve it, she'd seen them. They'd not been meeting a lot; their mutual nervousness was proof of that. Briefly, she wondered if they could hear each others' heartbeats. Anyway, it wasn't any of her business. As she sneaked past them to retrieve her bag and returned, she suddenly heard someone leave rather quickly.

Did Jess do something to her?

She hadn't meant to have this to be her first worry and frankly, she was a bit disappointed when she thought that.

Jess was the one to remain, but the look on his face spoke volumes.

He got it really, really bad.

For a moment, she thought it might be better to be worried about him, when everyone else thought of Rory.

He'd verbally take her apart if he ever found out what she'd just thought.

The next time she saw them, was a few weeks later when they left Andrew's, both carrying bags that were undoubtedly full of books. They were laughing, their eyes seeing nothing but each others' faces. Even from across the streets she could see his eyes sparkle and a smile gracing his face that was only meant for the girl next to him. Rory looked back with a smile Gypsy had never seen on her… Shy, admiring, amused, not ready to please but ready to stick up for what she thought.

So, Rory was a goner, too.

They wouldn't last.

Not because he'd steal her innocence and throw her away like garbage.

No, that wasn't it.

They were both too young, he was carrying too much baggage, she was too naïve. She was working for college; he was still looking for peace.

He tried to hide it from her, he really did, but the girl seemed to have a talent to pick up on his mood. Probably another first for him.

But their story wouldn't be over after that inevitable break-up for if she knew one thing about those two, it was their mutual love for books… And sappy romance novels never ended without a happy end.

Of course, life wasn't a romance novel, but she had this feeling that their paths would cross again.

* * *

She'd been right.

It was he who'd left. While everybody else seemed to think '_I knew he'd break her heart_,' Gypsy thought '_Sometimes you have to break something to let it heal.'_

When he came back for the car (what the hell did Luke do with it? Let it rot somewhere?), she saw that the mending hadn't quite started yet. His eyes still looked haunted when he thought nobody was watching.

But, boy, he still got it bad.

He hadn't hit rock bottom yet, but he would soon. Gypsy only hoped it wouldn't be Rory to serve the lethal blow.

He'd get up again, he simply was that strong, but he had to hit rock bottom first before he could mend.

Poor guy! Life didn't make things easy for him.

* * *

She saw him three years later visiting his little sister. He snuck into town one evening, two weeks after Doula's birth.

First, he went to see Luke. Those two got rather close. She'd thought it would happen, but it was nice to see it person. She smirked a bit.

He left the diner and stood still for a second, exhaled and walked towards his mother's house. His head turned to her and he smiled nodding in acknowledgment.

There it was. The heart was mended, whole. He was in his early twenties and at peace.

What she had always expected to happen now had become real.

She wasn't a sappy person, but that nearly made her cry.

They didn't talk, they weren't much for talking, but the smile had spoken volumes concerning his state of mind.

He didn't stay long, a day or two, and it didn't take long until everybody knew he was here. He didn't hide, he still wasn't very friendly, but he was being polite surprising Miss Patty and Babette to the point they could talk no more.

They didn't talk in person, but their gestures were the same as ever making her a little proud. She'd never forced Jess to be anything else but himself.


End file.
